Two Blind Men and a Donkey by Mathurin Dondo

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Two Blind Men and a Donkey
                                                           Mathurin Dondo
Answer the following questions in 15-20 words each:
  1. Where is ‘The Green Dragon’ situated?
Answer: ‘The Green Dragon’ is situated to the left of the public square of a quaint town of medieval France.
  1. What does the Comedian say to introduce himself to the Two Blind Men?
Answer: The Comedian introduces himself as a poor beggar to the Two Blind Men.
  1. Why does the inn-keeper threaten to call the police?
Answer: The inn-keeper threatens the Two Blind Men to call the police as they have not paid after taking the meal.
  1. Where does the Comedian put the donkey?
Answer: The Comedian puts the donkey into the stable of the inn-keeper.
  1. How do the Two Blind Men recognise the donkey?
Answer: The Two Blind Men recognise the donkey when it begins to bray.
  1. Why are the Two Blind Men annoyed with the Comedian?
Answer: The Two Blind Men are annoyed with the Comedian as he is a poor beggar and cannt give them any alms.
  1. Why do the Two Blind Men go to ‘The Green Dragon’?
Answer: The Two Blind Men go to ‘The Green Dragon’ to relish a meal.
  1. Where do the events of the play take place?
Answer: The events of the play take place at the city gate out of the Green Dragon Inn of the medieval France.
Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each:
  1. What trick does the Donkey Driver play upon the Two Blind Men?
Answer: The Donkey Driver promises to give them a ducat if they can tell whereabouts of his donkey. He doesn’t give them any money and both of them keep thinking unwittingly that the other has got the ducat. Thus he fools them.
  1. What trick does the Comedian play upon the Donkey Driver?
Answer: The Comedian hands over the donkey to the inn-keeper and he puts himself into the halter. When the Donkey Driver returns he is surprised to see the Comedian in place of his donkey. The Comedian says that he is his donkey that has transformed into a human being again. Thus he confuses him.
  1. Why do the Two Blind Men quarrel with each other second time in the play?
Answer: The Two Blind Men cannot pay the bill at The Green Dragon. Each begins to blame the other believing that he has got the ducat from the Donkey Driver. But in reality the Donkey Driver gave them no money.
  1. Point out two instances of dramatic irony in the play?
Answer: The first example of dramatic irony in the play is the scene where the donkey licks the hand of blind men and they think it a beautiful lady. The audience know the reality.
The second example when the Comedian presents himself the donkey of the Donkey Driver. He says to him that he has transformed back into a human being. But we know the donkey is in the stable.
  1. Who speaks the following words, to whom and why?
“It is nothing. Only a habit of my donkey life. I shall have some difficulty in getting rid of it. But in time, it will pass.”
            Answer: The Comedian says the above words to the Donkey Driver when the Donkey Driver gets confused to see a human being instead of his donkey. The Comedian makes him believe that he is his donkey. To convince him he brays in between the conversation.
  1. Comment on the appropriateness of the title of the play.
Answer: The story revolves around the Two Blind Men and a donkey. First of all they are cheated by the Donkey Driver and they have no idea. They go to an inn to dine. The Comedian comes to their rescue in the story. The donkey again plays an important part. So we can say that the title is appropriate.
Answer the following questions in about 150 words each:
  1. Discuss the central theme of the play.
Answer: The Two Blind Men who are beggars approach two different people get the help. The Comedian shows his helplessness as he himself is poor. But the Donkey Driver cheats them even having promised to pay them a ducat if they find his donkey. The Donkey Driver is taught a lesson by the Comedian who comes to know about his cheating.
The play talks about our day to day reaction to the beggars or deprived of people. Sometimes we help them but mostly we make fun of them. Even we tease them also when we don’t want to help them. We need to be considerate with the poor.
We must learn a lesson from the play that we should never make fun of the poor. We should try to help them. If we cannot help them at least we should not tease them.
  1. Do you agree that the play would not have been possible without the Comedian? Give reasons for your answers.
Answer: The Comedian appears in the beginning of the play with the Two Blind Men. He shows his helplessness to give alms to the beggars. He appears again in the play and teaches a lesson to the Donkey Driver who earlier cheated the Two Blind Men.
The Comedian provides a new twist in the story. He cheats the Donkey Driver in a tricky manner. He helps the Two Blind Men and becomes handy in paying their bill.
The Comedian provides a relief in the story. He is representative of the good. We believe without him the play won’t be that interesting. We will end up hating the Donkey Driver as well as feeling sorry for the Two Blind Men.
  1. Do you think the Donkey Driver really deserved his comeuppance? Justify your answer.
Answer: The donkey driver asks the Two Blind Men about his lost donkey. The Blind Men ask him for charity, he promises them with a reward if they guide him to find his donkey. They guide him, but the man deceives them and gives them nothing. Both of them assumes that the other has taken the reward from the driver so they go to an inn and have a good dinner. The innkeeper gets them out after they have had their dinner and discover that they have no money. He wants to call the police, but the comedian comes to calm him after he witnesses the whole trick by the Donkey Driver. The Comedian hands over the donkey to the inn-keeper and takes the place of the donkey. When the owner comes out he is really surprised to see his donkey has transformed into a human being. Thus the Comedian cheats him. It is tit for tat.  
  1. Explain the following passage with reference to the context:
“This Donkey Driver has won my full admiration, and now, ladies and gentlemen, with your kind permission, I shall make him the hero of a farce of my own.”
Answer: Reference: These lines have been extracted from the play “Two Blind Men and a Donkey” written by
Mathurin Dondo.
Context: The Comedian notices how the Donkey Driver has cheated two poor blind beggars. So he decides to teach him a lesson.
Explanation: The donkey driver asks the Two Blind Men about his lost donkey. The blind men ask him for charity, he promises them with a reward if they guide him to find his donkey. They guide him, but the man deceives them and gives them nothing. Both of them assume that the other has taken the reward from the driver so they go to an inn to have a good dinner.
The Comedian at once realises that they will be in trouble as they can’t pay the bill of their meal. So he decides to teach a lesson to the Donkey Driver but in a funny manner.
Later on he hides his donkey and presents himself as his donkey that has transformed into a human being. He gives the donkey to the inn-keeper.
Critical appreciation: Farce: A farce is a type of comedy that makes use of highly exaggerated and funny situations aimed at entertaining the audience.

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